‘God’s Own Country’ – a getaway to nature’s abode

Legends has it, according to Hindu mythology, Kerala was created by Lord Parasurama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, by throwing his axe across the sea to create new land for his devotees to live peacefully. So, Kerala, being God's own creation, was named God's own country. 

The journey to this mesmerizing land started on March 27^th 2018. Our entire trip was planned in such a way so as to cover the major tourist destinations and have all the flavors of the beautiful state. To name some of the places in our itinerary, - Cochin, Munnar, Thekaddy, Alappuzha, and Kovalam.

We reached Cochin airport by evening 7.30 PM on March 27^th from Kolkata airport and were welcomed by the soothing coastal breeze. Drifting away from all the humdrum of city chaos was indeed a much-needed resort. Cochin the most populous commercial city of Kerala is surrounded by Arabian Sea and is often quoted as Queen of the Arabian Sea. The temperature was around 25 °C to 32 °C. We booked a cab to accompany us for the entire trip.

Following morning, we started our journey and visited Cochin Fort, religious sites like St. Francis Church, Santa Cruz Basilica, Hill Palace Museum and Cherai Beach. Cochin will present an intriguing and unique mix of medieval Europe and India due to intensive activities of Dutch, Portuguese and British in past centuries. Sprawling beaches in Kerala are mostly clean and surrounded by lush green coconut trees all around. Though the short stint in those places left a feeling of partial contentment, the destinations do leave an imprint in all of us, fascinating us all through. We didn’t spend much time in Cochin and reached the spice-hill station Munnar by night. Located at Idukki district, 5200 ft above mean sea level and often referred to as ‘Kashmir of South India’, the hill station is surrounded by Western Ghats mountain range and reaching there was quite a respite from the moist climate of rest of the Kerala. The temperature was about 20 °C and was cloudy. For the night we had our dinner and slept off.

Next daily early morning we left for sun rise view point. The roads were surrounded by valley of tea plantations covering the entire hill regions. The lush greenery all around the whirling hilly roads was a treat to the eyes. Few sites we visited in Munnar were Tea museum, Mattupetty Dam, where one can enjoy boating with mountains and clouds in view. We saw several plantations of spices like cardamom, cinnamon, lemongrass, pepper, one of the key elements of our visit to Kerala. One of the main attractions was the Kathakali and Kalaripattayu show in the cultural building in Munnar. The dance and artforms represent how diverse and enriched the cultural heritage of Kerala is. Dated many years ago the dance form stills carry on its legacy and the heritage is imbibed in the essence of Kerala. For food we mostly had north Indian dishes and was yet to taste the highly talked Keralan dishes.

Succeeding day, we moved to Thekaddy. On our way there were many viewpoints, like Dock heart view etc. The main attraction was the Periyar National Park, known for wild elephant and migratory birds. The park is located along the famous Periyar Lake with dense woods giving a scenic and beautiful view. We spent the whole day in the park and in evening we visited local spice shops for shopping.

Next day we reached Alleppey (Alappuzha), our next destination. The backwater destination was undoubtedly the best place to visit in Kerala. The climate was bit humid and moist but after the sunset the sea breeze cooled off the weather a bit. As we entered the city, we were excited to see the backwater stretches going by the road side. We reached Alleppey by evening and went to nearby beach to view the sunset which was mesmerizing.

Following day, we booked a shikhara and strolled the backwaters for couple of years. The view was beyond words, we witnessed the beautiful houseboats rallying slowly across the lake. The houses and schools were in backwaters and people mostly use boats as conveyance to reach town area. Several mango trees with mangoes were almost leaning on the blue water. One can have the ayurvedic massages amidst the view as there were many ayurvedic spa and massage centers. We had our lunch in the backwater for the day and relished on typical Keralan delicacies. Everything about this place was amazingly beautiful and alluring.

Next day we headed to our last stop Kovalam. We reached by afternoon, had our lunch and headed to the most famous and favored beach Kovalam. There are 3 natural crescent shaped beaches in Kovalam with light house in the center offering an ideal place for people to relax and enjoy. There are massage and spa centers, restaurants, resorts and adventure sports which offer great attractions to the tourists. We visited renowned Padmanabh Temple of Lord Vishnu in the evening.

This amazing tour of Kerala came to an end on the 5^th April 2018. We flew out from the Trivandrum airport early morning. Kerala is truly a land of scenic and picturesque beauty with hard-working and dedicated people upholding the Indian culture of “Atithi Devo Bhava”. The tour gave a whole new dimension of the rich Indian culture, the invincible diversity, the Indian heritage. Though the cultural differences were huge, not only in terms of the language but also in terms of the food, the way of life, everything was welcoming and pleasant in its own way. This affirmed the eternal connection we have despite the differences.

As quoted by famous American author, Mark Twain – “"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great-grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."

Signed off till the next journey unfolds……